


Dancing around each other

by lordbloodravens



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Class Differences, Costume Parties & Masquerades, F/M, Identity Reveal, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, this refers to sansa's past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:56:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26765410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordbloodravens/pseuds/lordbloodravens
Summary: Arya is royalty, rich and lucky to not have to think about how to pay next months rent. All she wants to do is travel the world and do war journalism. Gendry on the other side can barely get by, even with the money he makes working on his mother's flower shop. He hopes to be a mechanical engineering and get enough good grades to land himself a scholarship to study up north.But what happens when they meet in a masquerade, (one invited, the other sneaked in) with no names, no tags, not even showing their faces, just their bare souls?
Relationships: Arya Stark & Sansa Stark, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Dancing around each other

It was typical of Sansa to drag Arya into this sort of thing. A masquerade ball hosted by the Targaryens. The theme was “If you have it, flaunt it” and anyone who was someone had been invited. Her sister Sansa was what you would call an It Girl and of course had been invited.

Arya was the lesser known Stark sister, the one that didn’t get photographed by the paps whenever she went out to grab a bite. For Arya what she wanted was to be at the other side of the lens, but not taking photos of girls with their Starbucks coffee. Arya wanted to do war journalism. Being able to capture in an image not only the conflict but also the soul of the people, their sadness and their joy. That was her goal.

Tonight there would be a super interesting documentary on the Yi Ti wars of the previous decade and Arya had already reserved a place on her couch to see it when her sister called saying her date couldn’t go with her to the Ball and it would be great if Arya could come with her.

“I’m sure you called twelve other options before calling me.”

“Of course not Arya! Sometimes you say things that sound as if we hated each other and you know it’s not true.” Maybe in the past it wasn’t that wrong but now Sansa and her had patched things up and got along a lot better in the present.

They were now at Arya’s place, Sansa fully dressed, only missing make up and Arya wearing her pajamas, and not precisely the sexiest ones.

“So what’s the deal with this party? You realize I don’t have any proper clothes to wear if you invite me at the last minute right?”

“I thought about that and – said Sansa producing one of those bags that help protect expensive clothes – And one of Margaery’s cousins is about your size so I brought this. C’mon try it on.”

She opened the bag to reveal a beautiful bottle green ball gown with a bodice of lace and off-shoulders. Something a Tyrell would definitely wear.

Arya tried it on and surprisingly it fitted, after some help of a bra Sansa had given her in a previous birthday that did wonders for her shape and made it look as if Arya actually had some tits.

The next half hour was spent in front of a mirror doing their makeup but Arya wasn’t even sure if it was necessary since they all would be wearing masks concealing their faces. Nevertheless she let her sister apply unbelieving amounts of powder and blush to her skin with the excuse that she was too pale but not in the good way.

At quarter past ten the two Stark sisters were ready. A limo was supposed to pick them in fifteen minutes so they were just sitting in one of Arya’s couches with full makeup and heavy ball gowns. Arya suggested doing some tequila shots to lighten the wait but Sansa refused since she didn’t want to be drunk when posing in front of the cameras.

At last they received the call that their ride had arrived and off they went to the masked ball.

The party was being held at the Dragon Pit, an enormous building with a dome, capable of fitting more than a thousand people. A red carpet had been laid on the stairs that led to the entrance and hundreds of photographers flooded the place.

People weren’t supposed to know the identity of the guests because they wore masks but some of them were blatantly obvious. Cersei Lannister was wearing an emerald gown and a lion mask, the mane of the animal mixing with her golden hair. Oberyn Martell was other that wasn’t subtle at all, with a mask like a big sun. Arya’s mask was more discreet, Sansa had given her a black one with peacock feathers on each side.

They walked through the red carpet, Sansa posing once in a while but Arya only did it once to please her sister and then entered the party as fast as she could.

The Targaryens really knew how to throw a party. It was elegant but modern, the place was lit by chandeliers but their light was dim, giving the party an air of mystery. There was a side with tables, beautifully cladded in white and golden fabric but the enormous wooden dancefloor was the star of the evening. Right now it was empty, as the guests were just arriving, but in a couple of hours it would be full with couples dancing and twirling to the sound of music.

Arya made her way to a table and asked a waiter for a drink.

* * *

Gendry couldn’t believe his luck. He had managed to sneak into one of the most exclusive parties in all King’s Landing. His friend Hot Pie would be working as a cook and with the help of the gods he had opened the back door for Lommy and him to get into the ball.

Their clothes weren’t as fancy as the other guests but in the dark you couldn’t tell an original myrish suit from a second class one. The masks had been the easiest part, Lommy worked at a toy store and he had procured two for the both of them.

Gendry was awestruck with the luxury of all of it. Just the center piece from one of the tables was worth an entire month’s rent of his small studio apartment. He was studying to be a mechanical engineer and he was sure once he graduated and found a job, money wouldn’t be such a problem. But right now he was living the poor life of a college student with a part time job at his mom’s flower shop.

But none of that mattered right now when he was drinking the most expensive champagne surrounded by some of the most important figures of Westeros elite. It was then when he heard on the table next to him.

“Don’t you dare leave me here all alone Sansa.”

“It will be just for a minute I want to say hi to some people.” And with that a tall girl with a fox mask left the other girl alone sitting on the table.

Gendry didn’t notice he had been staring until the girl talked to him “Can I offer you something?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep staring.” After a few seconds, and maybe due to the two glasses of champagne he had already drank, he decided to keep the conversation “I know it’s a masked party so isn’t people supposed to not know each other?”

“I guess you’re referring to my sister… yeah but she just knows everyone, I think she would even recognize them in her sleep.”

Gendry laughed at that “And you? Are you that social?”

“Let’s just say my plan for tonight was watching a documentary on the Yi Ti war until I was convinced otherwise like less than three hours ago.”

So this girl was funny and smart and she looked like she could be pretty behind her mask.

The music had been playing for a while and there were already some couples dancing. Gendry wasn’t the best dancer, but his mom had tried that he at least wouldn’t embarrass himself in a party and he had a sufficient amount of alcohol in his body so he decided to take the risk.

“Hey, would you like to dance?”

She hesitated for a moment and looked him from up and down so he thought she was going to say no but at the last second she nodded and said “Sure, why not?”

He got up and took her hand, leading her to the dancefloor. It was a sort of waltz that was danced slowly and with your partner close to you. He placed a hand on her waist, a very tiny waist, and she grabbed his shoulder.

They moved through the floor and Gendry had to make a big effort to not keep staring at his feet the whole time due to his nervousness but at the same time if he made an effort he could see two stunning grey eyes behind that black mask.

The music changed to a more upbeat melody and one Gendry found difficult to follow but then the girl took the lead and soon he was having fun, moving his hips and turning her around, making her ball gown do beautiful forms in the air.

When they were short of breath after all the movement he whispered in her ear to go seat again. This time when he was leading her through the crowd, the grasp on her hand felt harder and warmer.

They arrived to the table where she had been sitting.

“You’re a pretty good dancer.” Said the girl out of breath.

“It’s probably all the champagne in my body. I’m usually as stiff as a statue.”

“Well I’m glad I met you. Otherwise this party would have been dead boring.”

“I’m glad I came. Has your sister not returned?”

“No, and most probably she won’t be back for a while. I knew what I was getting myself into when I accepted her invitation but now I’m really having fun.”

“So am I. Want me to get you some drinks?”

“Yes, please.”

Gendry stood up and went to the bar. He wasn’t sure what the girl would like so he asked for some girly drink with taste of fruit. He was so happy right now. The only problem was he didn’t know the girl’s name. She was probably some rich royalty girl and when he asked her name she would want to know his. And his name was Gendry Waters, not the kind of name to make it into the celebrity magazines or the gossip blogs. He sighed and took the drinks, pushing aside the idea of asking for her name.

Arya was checking the mystery guy’s back while he ordered the drinks when her sister Sansa approached the table.

“Having fun? I saw you dancing with someone.” Said Sansa all giddily. It was probably the alcohol but at the same time Arya hadn’t had a partner in a long time so she knew her sister was happy for her.

“Yeah and he’s coming here with drinks so go away, I know you and you will be bombarding him with questions.”

“Please I only want to know his name. And his intentions with my little sister.”

“Sansa I beg you, don’t ruin this for me. I’ll ask him eventually, but I don’t want to scare him.”

“Ok, I can see you really like him. I won’t be a bother. I’ll go talk to Margaery.”

Her big sister left the table and a few seconds later her mystery man sat down and offered her a sparkly pink drink.

“Thank you.” She drank a big sip and stared at the man in front of her.

She really wanted to know his name, and maybe his cellphone number, but the purpose of this Ball was to keep your identity secret. So she decided to play a little.

“So, are you gonna give me a hint of who you are?” She asked trying to sound as flirty as Arya Stark could be.

The guy got suddenly nervous but his only answer was “You would never guess.”

“Oh really? Now it’s a challenge.”

“I’m confident you would never guess.”

“At least give me a clue.” Arya was enjoying this more than she thought she would. It was one thing to know the name of a cute guy but now this was a game and she always won any game she played.

“Alright you can ask questions and I will only answer with yes or no. How that sounds?”

“Excellent. I won’t need more than 10 questions at much.”

* * *

Gendry was positive this girl would never guess his name, because he was a total nobody. But if he was being honest if she told him her name it wouldn’t mean much to him either since he barely paid attention to celebrity gossip. Still it was fun playing with her and he wanted to keep the conversation going.

“So… first question. Has your family made the papers in the last year?”

“Definitely not.”

“So I guess that leaves the Baratheon and Lannisters out.” They he knew at least a little for the highly public divorce Robert Baratheon and Cersei Lannister had the previous year.

“Is there a building or company with your last name on it here in the city?”

This time he decided to play a little “Yes, there is.” But he was actually referring to Waters Gardens, his mom’s flower shop. It still counted.

“Ooh, so that’s something. Not many families have companies with their name on it. Are you perhaps from Blackwood Industries?”

“Is that a final guess?”

“Hey I still have eight questions!”

“Then no, I’m not a Blackwood.”

She looked carefully at his mask, which resembled a wolf. “I know your mask doesn’t have anything to do with your family.”

“Why is that?” Maybe there was a clue to her name there.

“You don’t look like the wolfish type, that’s all.”

“You think so?”

“Nah, you’re too nice for that.”

“Oh, well you’re too cool for being a peacock.”

“What are you talking about? Peacocks are cool!”

“Not for me, once I was in a petting zoo and one bit me.”

“Well that’s because some dumb person put it in a petting zoo, they’re wild creatures.”

“Like you?”

“Like me, yes.” They both laughed. He was having such a wonderful time with her, he decided to not give a damn and tell her his name when her phone started ringing.

“Give me one sec.” She picked up “Sansa? Are you alright? Just breathe and tell me what happened? I’ll be on my way right away.”

“Is everything all right?” He asked worried.

“I’m not sure, I think my sister isn’t ok. Would you mind waiting for me for a minute, I need to check on her.”

“Sure, do you want me to go with you?”

“It’s ok, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

She got up, her ball gown doing a lot of noise where the fabric rustled and in a minute her figure got lost in the crowd.

He waited for fifteen minutes, then twenty and finally after almost an hour he got up from his seat and decided to look for her. The girl in the peacock mask with the green ball gown, but she was nowhere to be seen. He saw Lommy trying to flirt with some guy and asked him if he had seen the mystery girl but he hadn’t.

Gendry spent the rest of the night trying to find her, he even asked some of the waiters but it was for naught. Tired and not feeling in the mood to party he tried to exit from the same place where he had arrived, back in the kitchens where he found his friend Hot Pie.

“You wouldn’t believe what just happened. Two girls from the party left a while ago from the kitchen exit. The tall redhead looked like she was crying so something serious must have happened.”

That gave him hope “Do you remember how the other girl was dressed?”

“Hmm maybe a green dress? I heard someone call them Stark something.”

Stark as in the Starks that controlled the entire northern part of the country with their companies and real estate? The ones that had a university with the course in aeronautic engineering he would have killed to be a part of? She was that Stark? What kind of girl had he found for himself?

“So they left the party? They never came back?” Gendry asked desperately to his friend.

“I don’t think so. Why? You knew them?”

“Not enough to know her name.”

He decided he had enough of this ball and left. He walked to the alley where he had parked his motorbike. On the way to his apartment he kept thinking about the peacock Stark girl and wondered if he would ever meet her again.

* * *

Arya got up and navigated her way through the venue, trying to reach her sister. Sansa had told her she was in the ladies restroom located behind the stairs.

She hated the dress she was wearing for making her go so slowly. And the amount of drunk people dancing didn’t make things easier.

She hoped everything would be okay. If there was a strong person, that was her sister Sansa and by the sound of her voice during the call something must have really upset her. So she quickened her pace and finally she managed to find the restroom.

“Sansa? Are you here?”

“I’m here” her voice came from one of the stalls. It sounded terrible.

“Is everything alright? Are you hurt?”

“More or less.” She answered in a low voice.

“What does that mean? Sansa can you open the door, there’s no one else but me.”

Her sister opened the wooden door to reveal her sitting on the toilet with her make up destroyed by the tears.

“Who did this to you? What happened?”

“I met Joffrey.”

“Joffrey…” Arya said the word with venom. He had been Sansa’s abusive boyfriend and he had made her miserable for an entire year before the Stark family finally took notice and helped Sansa get out of that toxic relationship. The next months had been rough but with time Sansa had started smiling again and began being the bubbly person she used to be.

“What did that bastard said to you?”

“He threatened me. He said he still had some nude photos of me that he would sell to the paparazzi if I told anyone about how he treated me. If word got out we didn’t break up for schedule reasons he would sell the nudes.”

“That dipshit. Hey, hey dear, don’t worry about it, we’re going to talk to dad’s best lawyers and you’ll see how none of this will matter in a month. Now, do you want to get out of here? I doubt you want to meet anyone else in this state?”

“I just can’t bear to walk in front of all those photographers ready to catch me doing something wrong.”

“There must be an entrance for the personnel. We can sneak out.”

“What about the guy you were talking to?”

Arya thought of the mystery boy she had been having fun with. It was a shame to let him go, but the sooner Sansa was out of this mess, the better. Arya could not handle seeing her sister relapse.

“It’s sad but you are more important right now. C’mon put on your mask and we will leave this place right now.”

They managed to find a backdoor through the kitchens and with the help of an Uber they found their way back to Arya’s loft.

She tucked Sansa in her own bed and the two sisters slept together. But in her mind Arya wondered, if the night had gone differently, maybe she would have shared her bed with another person.

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo, this has been sitting in my WIPs for years but some inspiration struck so I present to you this. I hope you guys like it, and please comment, I love hearing your opinions :))))


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